jerseys

It’s been the elephant in the room for months now. When people say that “The {Insert mediocre/bad team} are going to go all the way this year”, there’s been one lingering question… how will they do at Metlife Stadium in the frigid cold? Will they mess up because they’re a warm weather or dome team, be great because they live in Sumas, Washington, the northernmost point in the US, or be okay because they’re from some city that doesn’t have some huge weather difference.

But it leads me to this question… why would they have it in New Jersey in the first place? There are a bunch of reasons not to have it there – the weather, the location, the fan experience, the soulless stadium, it’s NEW JERSEY – shouldn’t that be enough? The argument for this stadium may seem smart. “It’s the same as Indianapolis.” “It’s the NFL’s response to 9/11 to do something for New York” “It’ll be like the winter classic”. The first argument for Indianapolis is fine. However, there have been great chances for the NFL to do stuff like this. The NFL could’ve made a donation to some 9/11 fund of some sort. I’m not trying to be insensitive – although it’ll be great for the city monetarily, it just won’t be a great experience for the fans (although seeing Wilson or Manning go short-sleeved would be really funny.)

Many have made the argument for it being like the Winter Classic. However, let’s compare them side by side. The Winter Classic is a minor event with little to no effect on the regular season or playoffs, and only happens once a year. The Super Bowl is america’s biggest sporting event, biggest monetary gain for the NFL, cold weather is not a rare occurrence, and the most important game of the year. There’s a difference there.

I love New York, and it’s one of the world’s greatest, if not the greatest city in the world. But putting the game in a dome or a warm weather city would make this easier for everybody.

Today, the Boston Red Sox have broken tradition. Instead of the traditional “Red Sox” on their home jerseys, “Boston” was the word stitched upon their chest, and the opposing Royals wore patches saying “B Strong”. Neil Diamond came to sing Sweet Caroline, but my favorite response is in the pre-game ceremonies, David Ortiz told the crowd “This is our f***ing city – and nobody is going to dictate it.”. The game ended on a great note, with the Red Sox reclaiming the lead in the eighth and winning.

After the tragedy in Boston, things… – were rough. Very rough. The bombers, still on the loose at the time, and an entire city scared – that isn’t good – at all. This is how the rest of sports responded.

Last night, when the news broke out of the second suspect being captured, The Angels crowd and the Giants crowd both broke out into sweet caroline. Many chants of “USA, USA” were heard at other parks. The Celtics wore shirts with “Boston stands as one.” for warmups, and the patch was added to their jersey, as well as a black stripe. Carmelo Anthony and Paul Pierce, traditional enemies, both agreed and talked about the events.

The New York Yankees, (incase you follow sports and live under multiple rocks) showed their love for rivals Boston, with moments of silence, and many Yankees fans came to games wearing Red Sox jerseys.

Sports has traditionally reacted well to tragedy. Between our reactions to Newtown, 9/11, Penn State and more, we have shown as sports fans to put differences aside and agree. But this time around, I think we did a particularly good job.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s a ton of things that need to be changed with sports. But the way we respond to tragedy?

February 3. Oh, how I hate that day. While the Giants did play well, the day is a national hatred day for Pats fans. But, the Patriots have another chance to end wash out the bitter taste in their mouth, to beat the Giants for once and for all. I’m guessing white jerseys will be sported by New England for one main reason – this is not going to be like Super Bowl XLII.